What's Next?

Existing Market
Talk about what you think is what's next. You may rely on your analyses from "The Amazon Whisperer" exercise (when you discussed what product you thought might come next.)

In all of my previous interviews with people within my target market, the concept of serving alcohol during breakfast and lunch seemed very appealing and like it would draw in a much bigger crowd. This appeal made me think that maybe my customers would like it if my restaurant converted into a bar at night, where they could have drinks with their friends. But after thinking about this more, if I'm going to be serving alcohol at night, it would make most sense for me to also serve dinner, which changes my whole business idea from a "breakfast/lunch place" to a classic restaurant. So today, I'm going to find out if my customers would prefer for me to open a breakfast/lunch place that serves alcohol during those meals, or a full restaurant that converts to a bar at night. The former would focus more on having a day-time feel and atmosphere, while the latter would be more of a restaurant/bar. I asked my interviewees the following question:

Which restaurant do you think would be more successful in midtown: a strictly brunch place that serves a big menu of breakfast and lunch foods and also serves cocktails, or a restaurant that serves breakfast, lunch, and dinner, and converts into a bar at night. The first one would be more cutesy and strictly for brunching, the second one would be more casual.

https://youtu.be/pQytIixOJ5A
https://youtu.be/MITaARN3M1w
https://youtu.be/s_Vk-z5q1vM

In two to three paragraphs, describe what makes the most sense for your venture in terms of growing in your existing market.

I think that what I realized in the midst of these interviews is that a place that is strictly for brunch is going to appeal to college-aged females and elderly people more than anyone else. For example, middle-aged men would probably prefer a place that is open all day long and turns into a bar at night. Therefore, in order to appeal to everyone, I think a restaurant that is open all day long and turns into a bar will target the biggest demographic of people in Gainesville.

New Market
Identify a radically different market from what you're currently planning to target. 
The only market that I can really think of that my restaurant won't directly target is families. This is because the restaurant (similar to Swamp), turns into a bar at night, and there are often many college kids around who don't create an ideal environment for children. Therefore, my radically different market is parents and families.

Describe how you think your venture concept might be able to create value for people in that market. 
I think my venture concept might be able to create value for parents and families by offering special deals for kids such as one day out of the week where kids eat free. Since this restaurant is clearly not primarily targeted towards children, a promotion of that type will help to attract families and help them save money. I asked the parents that I interviewed the following question:

I am planning on opening a restaurant in midtown. What kinds of adaptations to the classic midtown restaurant / bar do you think you would make it more appealing to families? For example, if we had specials for kids such as kids eat free on Wednesdays, do you think you’d come more often with your family?

https://youtu.be/CZl88W-wURI
https://youtu.be/YwqhbLsT-Wk
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3aERF7ARFSU

Reflect, in two to three paragraphs, on what you learned about this new market. What surprised you the most? Were any of your expectations/assumptions correct? Does this new market, on second thought, appear to be as attractive as your existing market? 
These interviews were very helpful for me. I think the biggest struggle when it comes to targeting families is that most of them don't eat at restaurants in midtown, because it is such a college town and there are so many college kids around. I hadn't really thought about that previously, but I think that families are going to be a much harder demographic to target than I originally anticipated. Therefore, I will still offer the "Kids Eat Free" once a week, but I don't think this market will be as lucrative as I originally planned.

Week 12 Reading Reflection

I was most surprised by how many places people can go wrong with strategic planning. For example, lack of time can be a huge component and risk when it comes to planning a business and its strategic plan.

 I was a little confused about the Entrepreneurial Strategy Matrix, because it seems weird that you can have high risk and low innovation. You'd think if something has already been done before, it wouldn't be too risky to replicate.

I would ask the author where he thinks most entrepreneurs go wrong in strategic planning? And what he thinks the most important step is.

This week, I don't disagree with anything the author said!

Venture Concept No.1